According to Reuters reporter Jim Finkle, a bug in an update to the company's Symantec Endpoint Protection 12.1 anti-virus software for businesses caused some PCs running Windows XP operating system software to crash repeatedly, resulting in the "stop message" or "blue screen of death."

Orla Cox of Symantec Security Response confirmed the issue in a support forum post.

"On July 11th, 2012 Symantec Security Response started receiving reports of customers experiencing blue screens after applying the July 11th revision 18 definitions," Cox wrote. "Machines may continue to blue screen after they reboot. This problem only appears to occur on Windows XP machines. The root cause of the problem is unknown at this time“¦ Security Response is treating this issue with the utmost priority and is actively seeking a solution. Further information will be provided as soon as it becomes available."

Some customers were forced to fix computers on their own, due to the time that it took Symantec to discover, identify, and correct the issue, Finkle said. While the company did not know what caused the bug, they reported that the problem could be fixed if users manually removed the software from each disabled PC, he added.

Customers took to the company's forums to complain about the time-consuming process, with one calling the company's quality control and customer support "a joke" and adding that the product itself was "not much better."

Another had apparently contacted Symantec and was informed that the software developer was planning to offer a compensation package for the inconvenience, Reuters reported. That user encouraged others affected by the bugged update to contact the company and seek reimbursement for lost time and productivity as well.

"Symantec spokeswoman Ellen Hayes said she could not immediately discuss the terms of any compensation that might be in the works. She was also unable to say whether the update caused machines running Symantec's Norton antivirus software for consumers to malfunction," Finkle said.